Manish Raval, the Show’s Music Supervisor, Discusses How Song Choices for a TV Soundtrack Can Change Meaning

In the making of Sunday’s season premiere of “Girls,” the feel of the ending shifted from optimistic to anxious, thanks in large part to a switch in the song chosen for the final credits.

After Lena Dunham’s character, Hannah Horvath, says goodbye to her best friend and boyfriend, she climbs into her parents’ car and leaves Brooklyn for graduate school in Iowa. “Girls” music supervisor Manish Raval says the episode originally ended...